The third graders finished four days of FSA testing in math and language arts on Friday. We won't have the results of the tests until late May for the reading portion so we have no idea of the outcome, but I do know that they worked to do their best and are delighted it's over. We celebrated with pizza and t-shirt making Friday afternoon. Now on to their preparations for their "Night at the Museum" and some fun learning projects.

There is no testing this week, however parents of fifth, seventh, and eighth graders should be aware that these students test next week, beginning Monday, April 8. Everyone should have received a letter announcing the test to be given and the security rules surrounding the assessments, all of which are computer-based. Please be on time for the assessments as students cannot be admitted late to the classroom.

Enough about testing...We have things to celebrate! First of all, if you were unable to attend, you missed a great evening Friday showcasing our talented students. So much thanks has to go to the PTO Board and parents that put this evening together. Jill, Kyle, and Guistina, thank you! It was marvelous! Thank you, parent and teacher volunteers. The evening could not have gone off so well without your help. There were the students, families,and teachers who performed, of course, in a wide variety of acts. (I had to judge and that was no easy task, I assure you.) There was also an art show and recycled fashion show. There was food and a photo booth There were grab bags and prizes. So many things to keep the audience entertained throughout the evening. I hope this is only the beginning of a great tradition. The names of the participants and the winners in each category will be posted on the SAA website by Tuesday of this week.

We know we have talented students at SAA, but we also some very talented teachers as well. Providing outstanding performances Friday evening were Mr. Matt (as emcee), Mrs. LaRose (middle school language arts), Ms. Howard (4th/5th grade language arts and science), Ms. Nielsen (music assistant), Mr. Upholz (middle school science and agriscience), and Mr. Koci (6th grade math and science, video production). Mr. Koci also adapted the song "Cecilia" and led several of the teachers, with the able assistance of Joseph Solano on the "beat box", in singing the final performance. I loved it! A special thanks to Mrs. Quatttro for putting together the art show and fashion show and to Mrs. Julie for organizing the auditions.

One more word on testing...Mrs. LaRose deserves special recognition as she was recognized as one of the highest impact teachers in the state for the 2014-15 school year. This means that " in a recent analysis of student performance on standardized statewide assessments, the Florida Department of Education found that [she] had an impact on student learning that is among the most statistically-significantly positive in the entire state." Thank you, Mrs. LaRose for challenging our students and helping them to achieve success in language arts.

We will have a middle school presentation by the Sheriff's Department on internet safety and responsibility Monday morning (tomorrow). The next Governing Board meeting will be Monday, April 11 at 8:10 AM. The next SAC meeting will be Wednesday, April 13 at 4:15 PM.

Mrs. Julie asked that I share the following:1. Please note that a bright green sheet will be attached to this newsletter (when a hard copy is sent home) which is the order form for the tickets for all four Broadway shows being performed by the kindergarten through 5th grade students. As the orders come in, a date and time will be written on the form and ticket orders will be filled in the order in which they are received. Please remember to invite friends, relatives, neighbors, and co-workers. The shows will all be so much fun! We will have beautiful posters ready later this week. We encourage you to take them and put them up all over town!! I will pass them out in car line.2. Please remember that we have a transportation fundraiser this Monday, April 4th, at the Texas Roadhouse restaurant. Flyers will be given to students again on Monday. Please be sure to give the flyer to your server. 3. We have another transportation fundraiser at Jersey Mike's on Fruitville Road on Wednesday, April 13th. Jersey Mike's is just minutes from school. They love to have students take subs to tables and bus those tables to add to the fun of the event. We will send out more information later in the week. 4. Please remember to turn in work forms and field trip permission forms ASAP. The kindergarten through 5th grade program will go to print this week so if anyone wants to sponsor which includes an ad, you must let me know by Tuesday. The $500 sponsorship also includes a full page ad. The $100 sponsorship includes a quarter page ad. Ads can be business or personal. Thanks for your IMMEDIATE attention to this. 5. Please continue to buy tickets for the middle school production of "Anything Goes" through the Players Theatre.